Sage-Tips

What does it mean when someone says I wish I could?

You are expressing a desire to do something. Here are some examples: “I wish I could sing better.” “I wish I could settle the argument.”

Is it I wish I could or I wish I can?

The difference is in your expectation. When you say “I hope …” there is a strong probability that the meeting will take place, so you say “I hope I can …”. When you say “I wish …” you are acknowledging that the meeting will not take place, so you say “I wish I could …”.

What to reply when someone says I wish I could?

The correct response would be, “Thank you! I wish the same for you.” If this statement is said by someone much older than you (mentor perhaps) the intent is likely to be genuine and your response would be, “Thank you. You have given me great opportunities to do well.

How do you reply to I wish I could help?

The correct response would be, “Thank you!

What’s the difference between ‘I Wish I had’ and ‘I Wish I would have?

What’s the difference between “I wish I had” and “I wish I would have”? “I wish” makes the thought being expressed equivalent. That said, the first sentence is grammatically correct and the second sentence suffers from an inappropriate use of the conditional tense.

How to use the word wish in a sentence?

The use of “wish”requires the use of a past-tense to show that modal remoteness, and that is why version #2 has a preterite perfect (“had painted”) now instead of only a preterite (“painted”) that is in version #1.

Would have/wouldn’t have [done something]?

I wish I had worked harder at school, I wish I hadn’t punched my manager, I wish I hadn’t dropped out of college. Using the conditional perfect ‘would have/wouldn’t have [done something]’ instead of the past perfect is a mainly informal North American dialect variation, considered by many sources to be a mistake.

What does I Wish you wouldn’t smoke mean?

In this sense, you can say “I wish some­one would do some­thing”, which means “I wish some­one were will­ing to do some­thing”. For ex­am­ple, I wish you wouldn’t smoke. ex­presses that you wish the other per­son were so kind as not to smoke. You find the fact that they smoke un­kind or ir­ri­tat­ing, whereas when you say I wish you didn’t smoke.